by Zia Ur Rehman in The News, Nov 9, 2020
Karachi:The five-day-long ‘Sindh Awareness March’ – a rally held by the Qaumi Awami Tehreek to protest the federal government’s plan to develop the cities of Karachi’s two islands, the provincial government’s plan to sell Tharparkar’s Karoonjhar Mountains, and other issues “posing threats “ to Sindh’s provincial autonomy – concluded at the Karachi Press Club on Sunday.
The march, which passed through different cities en route to Karachi, began from Kandhkot and reached Karachi on the fifth day after covering of hundreds of kilometres. A large number of party activists, civil society members, and supporters of other Sindhi nationalist parties arrived at the press club to welcome the rally participants. Women activists too attended the march.
Speaking to the participants, QAT chief Ayaz Latif Palijo accused the federal government of capturing Sindh’s islands in violation of the constitution and the spirit of provincial autonomy.
Palijo, who is also the secretary-general of the Grand Democratic Alliance, a Sindh-based electoral alliance that is part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s coalition government in the Center, warned the federal government that the resistance of Sindh’s people would become stronger if the presidential ordinance for the formation of Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) was not withdrawn immediately.
“The country’s president is supposed to uphold the constitution but he is working against it,” he said. “We will not allow anyone to plunder Sindh in the name of so-called development.” Criticising Prime Minister Imran Khan, Palijo said citizens across the country had been suffering from terrorism, hunger, bad governance and inflation in his ‘Naya (New) Pakistan’.
“Except for Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Sardar Akhtar Mengal and Abdul Malik Baloch who have clearly opposed moves infringing on the rights of Sindh, leaders of other component parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, the eleven-party anti-government alliance, did not say anything about the issues of the provinces.”
Palijo accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of selling off Sindh’s natural resources and heritage sites. “Though the Sindh government has not openly backed out, it appeared to be trying to hoodwink people on islands’ issue.”
The PPP leadership had allowed the federal government, in return for assurances about its government in the province, to go ahead with plans for the “occupation of the islands”, he accused.
“We also reject the sale of Tharparkar’s Karoonjhar Mountains,” said the QAT chief, referring to a recent controversy that has been refuted by the provincial government officials. He said Karoonjhar Mountains were not just hills from where granite could be extracted to mint money, they were cultural heritage and asset of Sindh. “Karoonjhar hills are Sindh’s pride as they symbolise the province’s resistance movement against colonial powers.”
Palijo also expressed disapproval for the Karachi committee, which comprises the PTI, the PPP, and the MQM-P leaders, and declared it an “unconstitutional attempt to usurp Sindh’s authority” and a move to sever the metropolis from the province.
Other speakers said if the Sindh government considered the PIDA ordinance a wrong step then it should either move the Council of Common Interests or the apex court to tell these forums that this plan was unacceptable to the Sindhi people.https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/740962-qat-demands-centre-withdraw-pida-ordinance-slams-sindh-for-hoodwinking-people
